Some embodiments described herein relate generally to language instruction, and, in particular, to a system and method for delivering on-demand oral practiced reading exercises.
Fluency is a fundamental part of the language learning process. It relates to being able to read quickly and effortlessly while imparting the right expression and emotion on words. Practiced oral reading with feedback from human instructors can provide pedagogical benefit for those learning a first language and improve fluency for second language learners as well. Children often practice reading text aloud as part of early literacy curricula. Often, the learner will read out loud while a human teacher listens. The human teacher provides instructional feedback that helps the learner to decode words, and coaches on reading strategies (e.g., sounding out of words) that lead to fluency improvements. While practiced oral reading with feedback from human instructors is known to be beneficial, the lack of availability of human coaches and language educators has led to the development of systems that incorporate computer speech recognition feedback.
Some known systems have been developed to provide practiced oral reading exercises by incorporating computer speech recognition feedback. In such known systems, a computer typically plays the role of a human instructor to actively listen as a learner reads text aloud, to track the location of the spoken words on a computer screen, and to provide various forms of visual and/or audible feedback when errors are detected. Such known systems, however, typically require heavy preprocessing of audio and text content including manual crafting, alignment and/or synchronization of the audio and text content in advance, which can be labor-intensive and often require intervention from human editors. Furthermore, some known systems can require extensive installation of components (e.g., the software solution itself, the content, as well as the computer speech recognition system), thus making them inconvenient to use and difficult to update and maintain.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method that can enable oral reading exercises to deliver practice and instructional feedback to a language learner without human intervention, heavy preprocessing or extensive installation of components.